Vehicle-spring.



i G. NOLEN & J. SHEPHERD.

vBHIoLE SPRING.

rAPPLIUATION'FILED DEO; 20, 1906.

Patented sept. 29, 1908.

y To all 'whom it may concern.'

States, residing at Chicago, in the county of` absorbing cushion.

UNITED srArEs PATENT oEEioE.

.minis u. NoiENi/uvn .ioiiii siii:rii.iciii oifieiiiiiiiei), iiyiiinois;sirio NotEN Assioivoa 'ro JoiiN E. suprimen, or einciieo, iiiLiNois.

, VEHICLE-SPRING' Be it vknown that wc,JA1viEs G. NoiiENand JoiiN'SHEPHERD, citizens of ythe United Cook and State. of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Springs, ofwhich the following is a speciiication.

lOur invention relates to improvements in vehicle springs, and has forits salient' object to provide a spring construction for interositionbetween the runningl gear and the liody of la vehicle which willminimize the vibrations im )arted to the vehicle body.v

A further o ject of our inventionA is to provide an improved andpractically-advantageous construction involving as a shockmedium aresilient, inflated i yet further object lof our' invention is toprovide a construction which will enhance the 4sen'sitiveness` of suchcushion. And lother and further objects of our invention will become-apl'iarent to those skilled in the art from the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the .accom ing, wherein:

Figure 1 1s a side elevation of, an vautopanying drawmobile chassisequipped with our invention,

and having its rear axle partly cut away. Fig. 2 is an enlarged.elevation, with parts insection, of our improved cushion structure;`Fig. 3 is a transverse section online 3-3 of Fig. 2. i

Throughout vthe drawing like numerals-of reference refer always to likeparts.

In the drawing 5 and 5 indicate res ec-` tively tlie rear and frontwheels 6 and 6 the rear and front axles and 7 the frame of anautomobile. i

In our preferred construction-we provide intermediate each aXl'c yandthe frame two spring cushioning devices, 'one at each side of the frame.

body of rubber 'or othen resilient material surrounding the aXl'e,-anditself surrounded by la ring 9 constituting part of a' centralv supportor bearing part comprising an ellipf tical lcasting 10, theperimeter of`which is' grooved, as indicated 'at 11. In the groove 11 is seated aninflatable air cushion 12, preferably in the form of a continuous tube,of `suitable diameter, and surrounding the tube provided strap or' shoe13, con- 2 lSpeeifeation of LettrSjPatent. Application filed December20,1906. Serial N o. 348,685.

In the construction shown'S indicaties a,

Patented sept. 29, 190e.

stituting an opposing bearing part. The strap VA13 is preferably made intwo major pieces 13-, 13, provided with out-turned ends ifi. throughwhich take the connecting bolts v15 joining the parts of the bandtogetlier.'

'.lhat the band 13 may internally present a .continuous surface wepi'ovide short' plates 16 for spanning the gaps between thc parts 13"andA 13. The projections 14 of the part 13 are' preferably extended andprovided with aperturcd heads 17 -to which are connected, in .anysuitable. manner, the opposite endsof the seii'ii-elliptii-,al spring1S, cencasinir elements shall be variable as to area and to this end weprovide a structure such that the tube has bearing normally only at anumber of separated points. '.lo this end we prefer that there beinterposed between the band or shoe. 13 and the tube 1. a series ofballs, indicated at 19, preferably extending around the entire perimeterol' the tube 12. To permit -oi" theinsertion of the balls .19in a simplemanner we ypreferably provide in the upper band section 13 an aperture2() .closed by `a screw plug 21,.,and of suitable size to adinitof theballs 1S).

It will be seen that ourI improved' cushion arrangement provides at eachcorner ol' the vehicle', supplementing the action of a seiniellipticalspring, an e liptical cushioning de vice, wherein the cushioning part isan air filled tube of relatively large internal area, so disposed as topresent its maximum linear dimensions longitudinally of the machine, andarranged in a vertical plane, so'ftliat it is susceptible of readilytaking up shocks that woulr otherwise be imparted-to the vehicle;

4and furthermore itfwill be a parent that thel interposition of'theballs 19 )etween the surrounding strap and the cushiontube reduces 'thenormal area of contact between the parts in such a de ree as to renderthe device very sensitive. .pon receiving a shock from an obstruction inthe path of a wheel, it lwill be seen that the sudden application ofpressure to the axle 6 and through the surrounding cushion 8 to thecasting 10, forces the upper leg of the tube 12 upward, so that itssurface. isabnorinally indented by the balls 19, which tend to indentmore deeply the tube and thereby lto increase the superficial area oftrally securedl iii any approved fashion to -contact between the tubeand the encircling Y Patent, ofthe United States, is:

1. In combination with the running gear and frame of a vehicle, asupportingV memberconnected with the running gear, an air cushionbearing upon said supporting member, an overlying member connected withthe frame, and balls interposed between cneof said members and thecushion bearing directly on the cushion, to sink therein when underexcess 'of pressure. l

2. In combination with the running gear and frame of a vehicle, asupporting structure connectedwith the running gear, -an opposingstructure connected with the body, and an elastic cushioninterposedbetween said structures-and connecting with one thereof atseparatedpoints only. Y I A.

3. In combination ywith the running Agear and 'frame' of a. vehicle,similar concentric members one connected with the frame and thepother4with the running-gear, an air cushber, and over ion between saidmembers, and balls interposed between one of said members and thecushion and bearing directly on the cushion to sink therein to an extentwhen under excess of pressure. y

4. A cushioning device of the character described comprising a centralmember, an encircling pneumatic cushion, a separable, elliptic bandencircling the cushion, and a series of balls interposed between saidcushion and said band.

5. Ina vehicle, lthe combination with a running gear and a frame of acushioning device comprising bearing parts associated respectively withthe running gear Vand frame, an interposed air cushion' and ballsinterposed between and bearing upon one of said bearing parts and thecushion.

6. In combination with the running gear and frame of a vehicle, asupporting member connected with the running gear, an air cushionbearing upon said supporting memying parts, wherewith said cushionmember coacts at separated points only, connected with the frame.

. In testimony whereof we hereunto set our hands.

JOHN SHEPHERD.

JAMES c. NoLEN. i

